Marriott expected to build upscale boutique hotel in One Daytona

Monday

Jun 23, 2014 at 9:41 AMJun 23, 2014 at 10:24 PM

By Eileen Zaffiro-Keaneileen.zaffiro-kean@news-jrnl.com

DAYTONA BEACH — An “upscale” Marriott hotel is expected to be built in One Daytona, the 190-acre development across from Daytona International Speedway that's slated to open in two years.International Speedway Corp., the owner of the site and force behind One Daytona, is going public today with plans to ink a deal with Marriott and other hotel partners. Few details have been revealed about the planned 145-room Marriott, which would be located just off International Speedway Boulevard on the One Daytona property. But it has started to create a buzz.“We're very excited about featuring an upscale, full-service boutique hotel as part of the One Daytona experience,” said ISC CEO Lesa France Kennedy. “This type of property reiterates our commitment to offering an unparalleled hospitality experience for our fans, visitors and residents in 2016.”Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry was happy to hear the news about the Marriott.“Super. I'm excited,” Henry said. “This just proves we're off to an even better start than we imagined. I'm ecstatic over it. This will be an A-plus project.” Coming on the heels of recent news that the Desert Inn on the beachside could soon become a Westin Hotel, along with Hard Rock's plans for a hotel on the oceanfront and Russian developers' proposed $150 million convention hotel on the beach, Henry said: “It gets rosier every day.”Bob Davis, president and CEO of the Hotel & Lodging Association of Volusia County, said the Marriott “sounds like a great brand.” He said it should be “very upscale and very nice.”One Daytona will be a mix of apartments, condos, shops, restaurants, hotels, offices and places to have fun such as parks, nightclubs and a movie theater. Anchor tenants announced so far include Bass Pro Shops and Cobb Theatres. Terms have also been reached with other businesses and announcements on new tenants are coming soon, ISC officials say.“It's great that you're starting to see the announcements coming out of One Daytona,” said Nancy Keefer, president and CEO of the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce. “When you start putting names to businesses, it becomes more real to people. It's a complement to everything going on around here, and people are starting to see the Daytona Beach area as a great place for their businesses.”In ISC's latest announcement, the racing giant has revealed that it has selected Shaner Hotels, an owner-operator company in the hospitality industry, and Prime Hospitality Group, a Florida hotel developer, as its hotel partners. Shaner Hotels and Prime Hospitality Group are working with Marriott International.Shaner Hotels' current portfolio is made up of 40 properties with more than 5,000 rooms in 17 states and two countries with gross revenues of both owned and managed properties in excess of $150 million. Shaner is an approved management company and franchise of Marriott International Inc., Hilton Hotels Corporation, Intercontinental Hotels Group, and Choice Hotels. Prime Hospitality Group also works with Marriott International Inc., Hilton Hotels Corporation, Intercontinental Hotels Group and Choice Hotels. PHG spans national and international hotels, restaurants, financial institutions and individual entrepreneurs. PHG identifies, develops and operates hospitality investments and master plans.“Daytona Beach is already the World's Most Famous Beach, and when you add the $400 million Daytona Rising project underway at the Speedway to the incredible vision of One Daytona, we're extremely proud to be a part of that vision,” said Plato Ghinos, president of Shaner Hotels Group. “We feel this is the right product at the right time and we look forward to creating a signature property at One Daytona that represents the development's famed motorsports heritage as well as its close proximity to the famous 23 miles of beach.”Brian Leary, managing director for Atlanta-based Jacoby Development, ISC's chief partner on One Daytona, said the project will remain a quality venture.“Delivering an exceptional guest experience in all facets of One Daytona has been a goal from day one and our entire team is excited to announce this partnership,” Leary said. “Having the opportunity to work with the gold standard in the business — Marriott — and with proven partners such as Shaner and Prime, continues our model of assembling the best possible team to make One Daytona a reality in 2016.” Glenn Ritchey, the city's former mayor and chairman of the One Daytona community development district board that's helping with infrastructure expenses on the project, is also encouraged to hear about the new hotel partners.“I'm just delighted,” said Ritchey, who noted the partners should help attract more quality interest. “Daytona Beach has really caught on. It's contagious. We're on a roll. I think we'll get it right this time.” — Business Writer Jeffrey Cassady contributed to this report.